The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel

It's not about close or far...E has subject-verb agreement error:

it, as well as two other hotels, also owe...

With it, the sentence should have used singular verb owes.

Hmmm so in this case as well as other hotels + it- isn't really the subject. Thanks for pointing out

Posted from my mobile device

Not just in this case Sharmistha.

If the subject is separated from the verb by expressions such as along with, together with, as well as, in addition to, besides, or not, ignore these expressions to determine whether the subject is singular or plural.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses this aspect of Subject-Verba agreement. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.


(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels. S/V agreement.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels. The hotel also owes millions and owes two other hotels? Makes no sense. eliminate.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. Correct.

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. S/V agreement.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. S/V agreement. It(the hotel) should be followed by owes.

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.


(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
'illegal addition' is singular. Incorrect use of 'are'. Out.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels
Change in meaning -- this states that the addition owes millions to the exchequer AND two other hotels. How can a hotel owe $ to other hotels when its renovating its own building? Not sure. Out.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
Correct SV agreement and meaning is logical.

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
Same reasoning as A.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer
it + 'as well as' is an additive phrase, meaning that 'owe' should be singular since 'it' is singular. 'owe' is plural. Out.

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.

(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels -> The subject "the illegal addition" is singular, so "are" is incorrect to use.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels -> Meaning wise, it says, the hotel has two other hotels, but we are not sure, if unpaid taxes are the issue with all of them. Incorrect.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer -> Meaning wise, this is better. It says, all 3 hotels have unpaid taxes. It makes sense. Let's keep it.

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer -> The subject "the illegal addition" is singular, so "are" is incorrect to use.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer -> "It(singular subject) , as well as two other hotels, also owe(plural verb)" It is incorrect.

So, I think C.

IMO E

Understanding the meaning of the sentence:

it owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels VS it, along with two other hotels, owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer. First version of this sentence doesn't make sense as hotel shouldn't owe two hotels to the exchequer. But it definitely makes sense to say that the hotel, along with two other hotels, owes to the exchequer.

We need to see following errors in this sentence:

1. make sure that all the S-V pairs are correct.
2. There's a contrast in the sentence - The illegal addition of two floors is not the only trouble, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes
3. No discrepancy in the meaning

(A)are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels - Illegal addition should be followed by singular verb, hence this choice is incorrect.

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels - S-V error has been corrected in the first part of the sentence, but second part has meaning error as described above. Also usage of 'and' doesn't retain the contrast in the sentence. Hence Incorrect.

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer - Both the S-V pairs are correct. "It, along with two other hotels," is correct way.

(D)are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer - Illegal addition should be followed by singular verb, hence this choice is incorrect.

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, alsoowe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer - 'as well as two other hotels' is used as additive, hence verb should be singular for 'It'. Check below mentioned examples to understand it better.

it, as well as two other hotels,owes millions in taxes -correct because verb should be singular for "it"
it as well as two other hotelsowes millions in taxes - correct because verb should be singular for "it"

The illegal addition of two floors are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels.


(A) are not the only trouble the hotel could face, it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels Incorrect

SV error - The illegal addition singular, are plural

(B) is not the only trouble the hotel could face, and it also owes millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer along with two other hotels Incorrect

changes meaning - second part means that the hotel owes unpaid taxes to both the exchequer and other hotels; it doesnt intended meaning

(C) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it also owes, along with two other hotels, millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer Correct

(D) are not the only troubles the hotel could face, it as well as two other hotels also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer Incorrect

SV error - The illegal addition singular, are plural

(E) is not the only trouble the hotel could face; it, as well as two other hotels, also owe millions in unpaid taxes to the exchequer Incorrect

SV error - it singular, owe plural

Official Explanation:

(A) The singular subject phrase illegal addition does not agree with the plural are. The part after the comma creates a run-on sentence. Also, it is not clear whether the hotel owes money to the other two hotels or whether the other two hotels also owe money to the exchequer.

(B) The use of and does not make any sense. Also it is not clear whether the hotel owes money to the other two hotels or whether the other two hotels also owe money to the exchequer.

(C) The correct answer.

(D) The singular subject phrase illegal addition does not agree with the plural are. The part after the comma creates a run-on sentence.

(E) The singular subject it (because of the use of the additive as well as) does not agree with the plural verb owe.

Why does usage of “and” in B not make any sense? Is it because, then, in B, the pronoun “it” refers to the initial subject (illegal addition) which renders the construction as completely illogical?

I missed the little SV error in E and went for E, since C sort of conveyed that the hotel also owed two other hotels. I should have used slash and burn to remove the unnecessary phrases.

Cc AndrewN help!

Posted from my mobile device

Hello, ravigupta2912. I agree that spotting subject-verb agreement issues is vital to success on SC, so you want to pick off easier answers first. As for (B), and is the wrong conjunction when an explanatory for would do (even if this conjunction is rarely used and sounds overly formal). The first part of the sentence presents an intriguing lead-in:

The illegal addition of two floors is not the only trouble the hotel could face, ...

Once we jump across the comma at the end of the first independent clause, we expect to see a reason to justify the presence of not the only trouble. Although the original sentence can be eliminated on subject-verb agreement grounds, it can also be eliminated for its comma splice: you cannot join two independent clauses in the manner presented by using nothing more than a comma. So, if we want (B) to work, the conjunction had better act as an appropriate semantic bridge between the two independent clauses. And shifts the focus to some unrelated information, rather than completing the first thought. As I said earlier, for would act in the capacity of a because, and we can see that the second half of the sentence does, in fact, present the second problem. Of all the FANBOYS, for is the only one that could work. (Remember that that "S" stands for "so," not "since.")

I hope that helps. (Did you notice the comma splice in (D) as well? Again, look for any compelling reason to eliminate an answer choice.) Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.